Will you turn with me to 2 Peter chapter 3, please. We're going to read it together. 2 Peter chapter 3. If you were here last year, you'll remember that when I was here, we were going through 2 Peter and we got up to the end of chapter 2. So I thought, why not? Let's just continue through chapter 3. Let's read it together. This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Saviour spoken by your apostles. Know this, first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire. kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you. not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat? But according to His promise, we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. just as our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard, so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. What a reading of Scripture. Would you join with me and pray together as we consider God's Word? Our Father, we thank You that, as we've already thanked You, we thank You again and again that we can be here in this moment, today, together, as recipients of such rich grace of Yours. We thank You, remembering the adoption that You have given us, the right to become your children. And you adopted us as your own. And as your children, our Father, we, like chicks chirping, we chirp for food, for sustenance. We pray together that you will feed us, that you will guide us through your Word, that you will stir up our hearts and minds, that you will lead us, rebuke us if that's what we need, and guide us in your truth. Father, my words are too many and fall short, but Your Word is true, and Your Word is pure. Please help us to hear Your Word in these next few moments, and to go away revived, changed, closer to You, more shaped into the image of Your Son, our Lord and Savior. We thank you that you've given us your Spirit and that you are here with us to guide us through. And we pray that you'll help us to concentrate and to listen by faith. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Oh, thanks man. I had a moment there, I thought, oh, well, yeah, great. Wheels onto it. I've got my clicker here. Cool. All right. You remember, as I mentioned, we were going through 2 Peter. We got to the end of chapter 2 last year, and it's nice to be back, and now we can go through chapter 3. I love it when authors are super clear as to why they're writing. It just makes it so much easier when they're clear. And Peter does that for us. He explains why he's writing. He did that in chapter 1 verse 12 to 15 where he knows that his time on earth is about to come to an end. God's shown that to him and so he takes to writing it down because he's not going to be around in person to remind us, the church, and so he writes it down for permanent reminder. And it's quite a successful thing that he did, because here we are 2,000 years later, and we've got this permanent reminder still. And it's really quite simple. It's three chapters long. It's not that long. And the reminder, the way I would summarize it, is refreshingly simple. You need to know Jesus. You need to grow in your knowledge, in the knowledge and grace of Christ. Because that's our pantry for life and godliness. That's where we go. That's where we discover the exceedingly great and precious promises of God. That's where we discover the fullness of the One giving the promise. And he reminded us that we need to be healthy, that we need to keep our hearts healthy in the knowledge of Jesus. And we do that by diligent exercise in spiritual life. So, he says, add into your faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, and so on. He's even told us where to find it. It's in the witness of the apostles and the words of the prophets. And in chapter 2, he warned us about false teachers who would teach us anything that leads us down a path other than Christ. And then, I think last time I was here, he was warning us about empty wells. There'd be many empty wells out in the world, who would, you know, the well, it has a promise of refreshing water, but it's bone dry, it's empty. And we compared that to God, who's given us such great and precious promises and follows through with it. And now here we are in chapter three, we're looking at the promise of Christ's return. And Peter, he again states his purpose at the start of chapter 3. Basically, he's writing to stir up your sincere minds by way of reminder. To stir up your sincere minds by way of reminder. Now, he's not actually implying that they've forgotten it. He knows they haven't forgotten it. He writes earlier that he knows that they are established in these truths. But here he's writing it to remind them because he wants it to be center of their minds. And this actually got me thinking about, I work with computers, in computers a lot, this got me thinking about something called RAM. Does anyone know what RAM is? You've probably heard about it. If you've ever bought a device, or a computer, or a phone, or anything, you'll see the spec sheets, and at one of those specs are RAM. 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, if you're really keen. But basically what RAM is, is you have a computer, you have the hard drive which is long term storage, so the device might be on or off, the data, the memory is stored there. But then you have this thing called RAM. RAM is what happens, it's where the data is put when you're working with it, when you're processing it. Right? So if your app boots up or your phone turns on, what it's doing is getting all this information from the hard drive, putting it in RAM, and then it's processing it. That's what it's working. It's kind of like a mixing bowl in front of you. This is Peter's point. He's saying, I want you to keep this in RAM. And to speak plainly, We believe and we profess that Jesus is coming back again. That's a part of our profession, we profess that. We believe that this earth we live on will not last, it will be reformed, recreated anew. That's definitely in a hard drive, but Peter's, what he's wanting to do is he's wanting to make sure that it's in our rem, it's in the mixing bowl of our decision making in front of us. He's wanting to make sure that it's the data that we're using to make our decisions based off. And so that's my prayer today as we go through this, that as we go out the door, this will be front and center in our minds, day to day. So verse one, this now beloved, the second letter I'm writing to you, I'm stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember or that you should keep in RAM the words that the prophets spoke and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. So the message of the prophets and the message of the apostles, he's saying, keep that in RAM, keep that central. Because verse three, there's another message out there. There's another message out there, it's what I've called the mocker's message. Can you see that? It's quite light green. And no, Harry is shaking his head. Well, let me tell you, it says mockers message up there. Verse 3, know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts and saying, where's the promise of his coming? Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. Basically, he hasn't, it's been thousands of years, do you really think he's going to come back now? I've not heard anyone actually utter these words. I don't know if you have, word for word or anything. But wherever you look in the world, even in the church, this message is being lived by. It's being lived by. And I'm not going to focus on Peter's warning about the mockers, but more about the message. He's warning about the dangerous message. And he's warning about us not letting it seep in to our own mindset. Take over our ram, as it were. Keep in mind, keep in ram, the words that the prophets spoke and the commandment of Christ through the apostles. Because there's another message out there and we are susceptible to catching it. I want to point out three things about this other message. Firstly, is that it's an agnostic message. It implies that God is absent. Sure, God made the world. Yes, that's actually quite logical. But where is he now? Where is God now? There's a multitude of people out there who think this way. And there's an even larger multitude of people who live this way. Where is he now? The second point is truth avoidance. they conveniently avoid certain truths. That's verse 5. When they maintain this, in other words, for this argument to survive, for this thought to flourish in their mind, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed, the earth was formed by water, and the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. See, for this message to survive and to keep living in people's minds, it requires them to avoid noticing that God continues to preserve creation's existence, that God has his fingerprint in all of history, and it requires them to dismiss God's track record of judgment and visitation on the world, namely, the flood. I think, thinking about this message, it doesn't necessarily mean that someone needs to consciously think, God is absent and won't bring judgment. It really just requires them not even to think about it. It escapes their notice to not even consider it. But for those who do think about it, they would say, well, God hasn't judged the world yet. Is he really going to? Peter's point, well yes, he's done it before, he's going to do it again. I was at a youth camp this week and one of the campers, I didn't know, it's quite a large camp, I didn't know the camper, I didn't know why either, but they were sent home halfway through because they kept breaking some of the crucial rules. And then at the end of camp, I think it was on Thursday, I was driving home with a car full of youth, my own youth who I knew from my youth group. And to my surprise, they were very open about their camp stories and some of the mischief that they got up to. I think it was halfway on the way home, they realised, oh wait, Andy's in the car with us. I just kept silent, a little bit shocked by their stories. But one of them, it wasn't anything truly harmful. One of them was saying about one time they or one of their friends was dorm hopping after lights out, which was a rule that you're not allowed to do. But I mean, that's not too bad. Don't tell them I said that. They thought they were going to be found out at one point in time. And they said all that they could think at that moment was, I'm going to get sent home. I'm going to get sent home. But that's when they were thinking that they were going to get found out. It wasn't before that. And I thought to myself, well, while they're disobeying, they were not noticing or thinking about, well, wait, one camp has already been sent home, that they might be as well. It was only that they When they thought they'd found out, they realized their dilemma. This chapter, Peter's not talking about youth camps here. He's not talking about being sent home. He's talking about the day of judgment and the day of destruction. And he's saying, it escapes their notice that God has done it before and He's going to do it again just as He's promised. But this escapes their notice. kind of got me thinking, how could this escape their notice? Well, one reason he sort of explains is because they're walking according to flesh. They're motivated. It's a sort of a willing ignorance. But then I thought about what the Lord himself said, and it's kind of, the warning is the busyness and the monotony of life. So listen to what the Lord says about this day. He says, this is in Luke, "...just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall also be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all." It was the same as happened in the days of Lot. They were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. But on the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed." What I'm hearing there, do not let the monotony of each day The norms of each year and the seemingly never-ending routines of each week fool you into thinking it's not going to happen. The end won't come. All things will just go on like they always have. Don't let the monotony of each day lull you into a sense of, ah, it's not going to happen. The end won't come. His promise won't be kept, at least for a long time. Peter's saying, keep it front and centre. Keep the message of the prophets and the apostles, which is of Christ's return, keep that in ram, front and centre in your decision-making. Last one about this message. This message mocks God. This is why Peter calls it the mockers, and he says that they're mocking, because it's implying that God is slack. He's lazy. He's neglectful when it comes to his promises. God is not mocked. What a man sows that he will also reap. And while this truth might escape the notice of many, Peter says to us in verse 8, do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved. That with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. It's kind of like a currency rate. US dollars versus Australian dollars, there's different currency rates. Well, our currency of time is very different to God's. Verse 9, the Lord is not slow, or another translation says slack, about His promise. He's not slow, as some think of slowness, but He's patient towards you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. So while the mockers, they smear God as slack, in truth, God is remarkably patient and long-suffering. Verse 15 explained that, that we consider the patience of God to be our salvation. Just think about that. We live in a world that God still gives existence to, that God still provides for, that God still fills with His goodness, that God still knows, and yet it's a world that is continually resisting His authority, rejecting His authority. It takes His good gifts that it likes and tries to remove His label. It's a world that rejects the greatest gift of His Son. It's a world that is running to destruction and that God is restraining. And yet God is continually patient, patient, patient, and even that patience this world is smearing as slackness. And even then God continues to be patient. Why? Why? Look around you, look at me, look at each of us, so that we can come to salvation until all of God's people are gathered in. Thank you, Lord, praise God. We are so richly, I personally, we all have so richly benefited from God's patience. He's put up with the world so patiently for thousands of years so that we can be born and live and come to know Jesus as well. The goodness of God in his long suffering and patience. Amber was remarking on our way here how there'll be a time when the last person comes to know Jesus before the end. It's a remarkable thought, the last person will come. I wonder who that will be. And then if you were that person to think, wow, God has waited all this time for me to come into the fold. What a wonderful thought. So, Peter's warning us about this mocker's message from seeping into our own thinking. It's a message that implies God is absent, that conveniently avoids certain truths, and that mocks God as slack. But then in verse 10 we get the true message, the one that Peter makes clear for us, he asserts. The day of the Lord will come like a thief. in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat, but according to His promise, We are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. This is the message that needs to be in our RAM, that needs to be stirring around in our mind day to day. It needs to be at the table of every decision we make, month to month, year to year, long term, short term, day to day. Here are some ways that I was thinking that this applies. There are so many ways, but I cherry-picked just a hand, less than a handful. Thinking about how the true message of his promised return affects us, it governs our sentiment. I put this here because I've been thinking a lot about this recently. My parents, well, I grew up on a farm. And recently, it's going to probably be sold, or it will soon be sold. It's the farm I grew up on. It's the farm that my father put, invested so many countless hours of time into. And it's hard to think he's just going to sell it, and it'll be gone. So much of his life invested in it, and it's gone. Oh, for what? It's not easy to think about. But then you think of these words, the earth and all the works in it, like that farm, will be burned up. It's kind of unwise or even foolish for me to put so much sentiment in that farm. I remembered that. I reminded mum and dad that our sentiments lie in that which is to come. Our sentiment lies in that which is to come. Doesn't mean we forget the farm or anything like that, but we don't hold on to it so tightly. The earth and all its works will be burned up or exposed to the fire. Is that governing where your sentiment lies? If you're getting old in years, you might be susceptible to spending a lot of time reminiscing about the good old days. Just be careful about that. Your best years are still yet to come. They're not in the past. They're in the future. And if this promise of his return is in the front and center of your mind, then it will cause no small amount of joy and rejoicing. rather than yearning for the past. If you're facing maybe a midlife crisis of some sort, and you feel stuck with just the relentless demands of work and family, and you miss the excitement of your youth, or the freedom that you think you had, well, keep this promise front and center in your mind. If you are, then you rejoice. It's better than your youth. Till then, pursue holiness and godliness. That means loving God. That means working hardly as to the Lord. That means raising your family in the ways of God. Caring for the orphans and widows. Living in peace with as many as you can. If you're finishing school or facing pressure of what to do and thinking like so much of your future depends on these decisions in the next few years, think about His promised return. Kind of brings it into perspective. If you're happy with your life as it is, you sort of feel like you're living the Australian dream, you've got the best job, great family, just be careful. Be careful that you don't start just holding on so tightly to that which will be done away with. Make sure, enjoy what God gives, but invest your hope and sentiment in that which is to come, which Christ will bring. For me, traveling is one of those things, and not many people think this way. Often we think traveling, we have an urgency to travel, you know, life is short, and I want to see places, go places. But for me, I think, well, it's not the top of the list for me, because there will be a new creation. And I'm pretty sure that would be even better to travel through and see. I think about that sometimes. And my friend was saying that in the car. I thought, oh, yeah, exactly. That's just for me. I'm not asserting that. It's just my own thought. But the one that Peter really hits home is holiness and godliness. The true message prioritises holiness, holy conduct, and godliness. When the promise of Christ's coming is truly in our hand, holy conduct and godliness will be prioritised and not put on the back burner. It's not thought of, oh yeah, eventually once I get married, or once I finish work, or anything like that, or finish study, or whatever reason we might come up with. No. Today, while it is called today, we pursue holy conduct and godliness according to God's will. So when the promise of his coming is stirring around in our minds, when it's in our RAM, it will govern our sentiments and prioritize holy conduct and godliness. Because that's what will come through. Let me just close with this thought. Perhaps you, like me, sometimes think back. You think back in the days when you're in school, maybe. I remember when I was in school, and I would think, I wonder what it'd be like when I'm out of school. And now I'm out of school, and I look back and think about that. Then I would think sometimes, I wonder what it's like when I would have a house and live in my own house. And now I live in my own house in Timboon. I look back on those days. Sometimes I wonder, I wonder what it'd be like if I have kids. I don't know yet. Many of you do. But in the same way, we think, I wonder what it would be. There'll be a day when we look back after Christ's promise coming, when we look back, and so many things that seem so big today will be a footnote in the future history. There'll be a day, it's remarkable to think, there'll be a day when we look back and think back before Jesus returned. The day of the Lord will come. The earth and all its works will be burned up. But we are looking forward. to a newer heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And the best thing of all, it's with Jesus in person. What a wonderful thing. Would you pray with me? Father, would you help us to keep this promise of Christ's return and of the new creation very much front and center of our minds? When we're feeling lost, when we miss loved ones who have joined you in glory, in so many times, help us to keep this promise front and center. We pray that our sentiments will be correctly placed, that we will be diligent and prioritized pursuing holy conduct and godliness according to your promise and command. Father, if this mockers message has seeped into our mindsets and our lifestyles, then please prod us, show us, rebuke us, forgive us, and correct us. We marvel and think about Your patience, Your incredible patience with this world. And we are so grateful to You because it's enabled us to receive so great a salvation. And we thank You. And Father, we want to say together that we look longingly and sort of impatiently for the final day and with a little bit of nerve, nervousness, just because of the magnitude We look forward to the day when we look back on these days. For your immense patience and for your great and precious promises, all of which are sure, we pray to your name be all the glory, all of our lives and everything in Jesus' name. Amen.